I’m not sure if you can consider this photography (purists should stop reading now) but Go Watanabe’s Face is an example of how photography may progress in the future. He first photographs the models, digitally manipulates them, and models them onto 3D meshes. The final works are displayed in a lightbox, further enhancing the transparency of the images. This combination of CG and photography results in ghostly, android-looking portraits that questions the portrait in this day and age.
© Go Watanabe
There are no additional works to view on the gallery’s site. However, an older exhibition with some images can be seen here.
Go’s works remind me of Suellen Parker’s work, although she photographs her own clay sculpture and digitally paints in the features. The surroundings are also digital constructs from her library of stock photos.
© Suellen Parker
I’m not sure if this is how photography will progress but I guess the paradigm has shifted (long ago); away from photography being a true replication of nature, and towards a reconstructed reality that lives in the artist/photographer’s mind. Comments anyone? It’s been awfully quiet around here recently.
My apologies for not posting as fervently in the past week. I’ve been busy with school with the usual tests and projects. What makes it worse is that it’s only veering towards mid-term!
Face is now showing at Arataniurano.
Sep 15 - Oct 20, 2007.
3A 2-2-5 Shintomi Chuo-ku
Tokyo 104-0041 Japan
[Via TAB]
This is a fantasitc site, and I love the work shown within it.
I think photography has always been a reconstructed reality, it just depends on the artist’s intentions?
I guess once we step into the digital photography age, we are already reconstructing reality. What his guy did is just putting photography one step further. this happens to cartoons too, no one really draws cartoons anymore, almost everything in generated in computers.
Well, my personal thoughts are that these art works should be labelled as digital manipulation/photography, instead of just classifying them as photography.
Yes, I’m also prone to doctoring my images in Photoshop, from levels/curves to the liquify tool (those pesky double chins!). But I draw the line when it comes to my own personal work. If I am using a 3D modeling tool, I would call it digital art instead.
Anvin, what would happen one day if the camera you use takes a picture and transform whatever it has taken into a “perfect” image? A man in his 50s would have his wrinkles and blemishes removed, skin tone changed, teeth brightened etc.
reminds me of http://douart.ru/
Well since cameras make you put on 10 pounds instantly, it makes sense to have an in-built slimming function. :)